Rina Sawayama Releases New Song ‘Phantom’
Rina Sawyama is back with one last single before she releases her highly anticipated album, Hold the Girl. “Phantom” follows previous singles “This H*ll,” “Catch Me In The Air,” and the title track.
On August 25, Sawayama shared “Phantom,” her power ballad. In a press release, she claims the song reveals when “I realized as an adult that I have spent my whole life pleasing other people and not realizing it — constantly pushing my boundaries and not realizing the difference between what I wanted to do and what other people wanted from me. Through the lyrics in the verse, I’m trying to tell this story, and then in the choruses, I’m mourning the loss of my real self.”
Although the singer is a bona fide pop star, Hold the Girl is inspired by her newfound love of country music. Her first single introducing the new era was “This H*ll,” where the singer states, “The past couple of years I’ve been listening to lots of female country singers and wanted to write a euphoric and tongue-in-cheek country-pop song. Country music at its core to me represents comfort, brilliant storytelling, and authentic expression of the writer’s reality.”
Sawayama cites Kacey Musgraves and Dolly Parton as inspirations. She adds of the genre, “Country music is not trying to complicate things. The important thing about country songwriting is that you’re telling the true reality about what’s happening to you, and that’s something I’ve been trying to stay true to.”
Rina Sawayama’s sophomore effort, Hold the Girl, arrives on September 16. Fans can stream her latest single on all major music platforms.
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